


But oh how it feels so real

by maanorchidee



Category: Dalton Academy Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 01:38:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15853599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/maanorchidee
Summary: "Rane AU where Shane is a superhero who approaches fashion designer Reed and asks him to make him a practical outfit.”





	But oh how it feels so real

**Author's Note:**

> Wooh, here it is, the Rane superhero fic! This is dedicated to y’all on Plurk who were into this.

There are two things Shane Anderson would like you to know:

  1. He did not pick the name Tiny Dancer.
  2. The fact that Reed Van Kamp, upcoming designer and son of Hilde van Kamp, is hot, did not influence his decisions at all.



Unfortunately for Shane, those two things only make sense to a select group of people, because basically no one knows that Shane is the Tiny Dancer, a superhero who specialises in transportation. The reason people started calling him Tiny Dancer is because this freaking blog post had to describe his powers as: “swift and quick movement, like a dancer” and people pointed out that Shane isn’t the tallest. The ironic part is that Shane is a dance student at Juilliard.

As stated in number one, Shane did not pick the name Tiny Dancer and he despises it, but the people of New York have spoken. One of the only people who knows of Shane’s identity is Blaine, his brother, and he thinks it’s hilarious.

Number two is a completely different thing. Shane realised that his Tiny Dancer costume became outdated and he needed a new one. Refusing to bring Blaine’s designer boyfriend Kurt in on the secret, he asked his tech supervisor Han to figure out the address of upcoming designer Reed Van Kamp.

“This is an extreme breach of privacy,” Blaine had said, “We could’ve just asked Kurt.”

“Just admit that you want to spent time with your man ‘on the clock’, Blaine,” Han had said back.

“As if Reed isn’t doing it because he has a crush on Reed Van Kamp,” Spencer, who trains Shane in combat, had said.

“I have not! Reed Van Kamp is just a very great designer,” Shane had said, but his small group of people, his team, had laughed.

But that is the story behind number two and that is why Reed is now standing in a corner in the apartment that belongs to Reed Van Kamp at eleven pm, wearing his awful Tiny Dancer costume. Reed Van Kamp himself is holding a baseball bat.

“You have five seconds to get out of my house!” Reed yells.

“Reed Van Kamp,” Shane says with his deeper ‘Tiny Dancer’ voice, and he steps into the light. Reed drops his baseball bat and his eyes widen in shock and surprise.

“You’re- you’re Tiny Dancer.”

Shane tries not to wince at the name, but then again, hearing Reed Van Kamp say it makes it sound so much better.

“You know who I am,” Shane says, trying to stay mysterious. Because that is what superheroing is about. Stay mysterious, stay vague, stay hidden.

“Of course,” Reed says, still in shock, “Everyone has at least heard of you. You once saved my stepbrother from a robbery at knifepoint.” He immediately lets go of the baseball bat and for a second it looks like Reed is going to hug him, but instead, Reed just awkwardly stands there as if he’s not sure what to do.

So Shane helps him out by saying: “I am here for you. I have a request.”

“R-Request? From me?”

“You are Reed Van Kamp, son of Hilde van Kamp. As you can see, my current Tiny Dancer costume is no longer up to date,” he poses a couple of times and he tries not to blush when Reed keeps gaping, “So I hope that you are willing to design and make a new one for me.”

“Design? For you?”

“Design. For me.”

As expected, Reed doesn’t immediately jump on the opportunity. Yet, Shane is still a bit disappointed, but he also can’t blame Reed. It doesn’t happen every damn day that the superhero of the city randomly appears in your apartment with a request like that.

“I… I don’t know, mister Dancer,” Reed says and he fumbles with his own clothes. Shane can’t believe that Reed just called him ‘mister Dancer’, but that is not important right now.

Instead he frowns and asks: “What is the matter?”

“Why me?” Reed blurts out, “Why not pick my mother? She is the professional designer. I am just trying stuff out and since I am a Van Kamp, people pick it up and talk about it. I really am not sure if I can do this, mister Dancer.”

“Please, call me Tiny. Mister Dancer is my father,” Shane jokes, but Reed doesn’t get it.

“Uh, okay, Tiny. I am not sure if this is a good idea, Tiny.”

“Reed, I am sure of it,” Shane says, and for a moment he uses his actual voice. Shane can’t really help it. He wish he could show Reed what a talented person he is. He coughs and he quickly uses his Tiny Dancer voice. “Yes, people might be talking about you because you’re a Van Kamp, but you really are incredible. I wouldn’t have-”  _illegally tracked down your address_ “-chosen you if I weren’t sure.”

“Can I think about it, mist- Tiny?”

“Of course,” Shane sees this as a win.

“When will I see you again?” Reed asks.

“Next week, same time, same place. Okay?”

Reed nods slowly. Shane does a mock salute and then he teleports away.

* * *

When Shane teleports to Reed’s apartment a week later, he’s a bit surprised to see Reed standing there with two cups of coffee.

“We should talk, so I made coffee.”

Shane is a little bit apprehensive. He tries not to leave signs of DNA behind. Reed must’ve noticed his hesitancy, because he immediately asks if Shane prefers tea.

“No, no, coffee is fine. It’s just that I am not entirely comfortable with you having a cup with my DNA on it.”

Reed’s face falls, but he pulls himself together. “Oh, God, I hadn’t even thought of that. I’m such an idiot, of course you have a secret identity. I just know you as Tiny.”

Reed’s about to put the coffee away, but he trips and both cups fall out of his hands. Before Reed’s body hits the floor, Shane teleports to his exact location to catch him.

“Are you okay?” Shane asks, worried.

Reed turns around in his arms and he blinks a couple of times. Then he grins. “Now you saved both me and my stepbrother.”

“Really, are you okay?” Shane asks as he helps Reed get up.

“Sure, this happens all the time,” Reed says, and Shane has to admit that he is way too casual about tripping and spilling coffee in his apartment. Even though he didn’t really fall, Reed still dusts off his clothes. “Gosh, Tiny, I was planning on telling you that I was going to design your new costume, but I am a big clutz and now that you’ve seen it, I can understand that you no longer want me to do it.”

But Shane stopped listening after the first part. “You want to design my costume?” he asks and his smile widens when Reed enthusiastically nods.

“Yeah, I talked to my stepbrother about and it’s the least I could do for you saving his life,” he says.

“I also just saved your ass.”

“My ass needs saving, yeah,” Reed says and Shane tries not to stare at Reed’s ass. He’s here for ‘professional’ business now. “But yeah, Clark and I owe you and honestly, I think the main reason I was so afraid and hesitant is because I always have the assumption that people only pick my designs because I am  _the_  Reed Van Kamp. But after panicking for four days straight, I realized that this whole superhero thing gives me some sense of anonymity as well. I can try things out. People don’t have expectations because I am supposed to be perfect.”

Shane whistles. “You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?”

Reed nods again, as enthusiastic as before, and he gestures to Shane to follow him to another room. When Reed turns on the light, Shane sees art equipment everywhere. Shane has heard some things about Reed Van Kamp painting, but he never really looked into it.

Now that he sees the canvasses, he’s impressed.

“This is my studio,” Reed says, “As you can see, it’s mostly used for my paintings, but this is also the place where I design and sew. Please ignore the padding. I swear this is not an asylum, I just really am a clutz.”

Shane has been in an actual asylum to save someone, so he knows that it’s not, but he obviously can’t tell Reed that.

Reed sits down at his design table. “What are you looking for? Do you still want to wear blue and red? It’s your colour.”

 _It’s for my alma mater._ Again, Shane can’t tell him. Usually, Shane is pretty okay with this whole secret identity thing, but something about Reed just makes him want to open up. But he can’t, not with the mask on. Instead, he says: “Yes, please, it’s my colour scheme.”

“Again, it looks good on you,” Reed says. Shane tries not to blush. His mask only covers his eyes and nose, so Reed would notice.

He wishes he could take it off. He wishes he could flirt with Reed. Crap.

Shane clears his throat and deepens his voice: “Uhm, you are in charge of the designs. I’ve seen your designs and I love them, but I am looking for something comfortable and that suits my powers. I need to be able to make swift movements and big jumps. Please, not a stereotypical bodysuit. Make it stylish. Maybe a snazzy blazer.”

Shane was joking about the last part, but Reed has found a freaking notepad and he starts writing everything down. “How long do I have?”

“What?” Shane asks.

“When do you want to have a concept, Tiny?”

“Uhm, same time next week?” Shane suggests. He always has Thursday evenings off. Blaine made sure Shane has a break once a week, so that he doesn’t tire himself out. Contrary to popular belief, even superheroes have limits.

Looks like his Thursdays are now filled with ‘Tiny Dancer activity’ as well, but Shane would love to see Reed.

Reed puts the pencil behind his ear and he closes his notebook. “See you next week!”

They say goodbye and Shane teleports away, but he doesn’t go back to the small apartment that he shares with Blaine. No, he goes to a rooftop. He needs to think.

Shane really wasn’t lying about number 2. The fact that Reed Van Kamp is hot did not influence his decisions at all. No matter what Blaine says, Shane does not have a crush on Reed Van Kamp.

At least, that’s what Shane thought.

* * *

Another thing that not many people realise about superheroes is that all the “superheroing” you see on TV shows don’t reflect the real superhero experience. For starters, Shane does not have a high tech liar somewhere under the city of New York.

He and Blaine don’t have much money after they decided to cut ties with their homophobic parents. David, Han, Spencer, and Logan do have money, but they don’t want to put the Tiny Dancer set-up in their luxurious apartments, because they don’t want people to find out that they are working with Tiny Dancer. Justin, Drew and Satoru don’t live in the city, but they’re always a call away.

This was never really a problem, until Blaine started dating this cute fashion student named Kurt. Luckily, Shane has the reputation of being the annoying younger brother, so Shane banning Kurt from that one room in their shitty apartment makes sense.

But having Kurt around makes Shane think about Reed.

Kurt and Blaine are watching a movie in their small living room and Shane realizes that he could never have that. Not as Tiny Dancer. Even though Blaine often jokes about consulting Kurt, they don’t want Kurt to be in the Tiny Dancer business.

Another thing that not many people realise is that the danger is real. Shane having a secret identity isn’t a joke. People want him dead. One of the best things about the Tiny Dancer set-up is that no one from their team, except for Shane and Blaine, is present all the time. Han is still a recluse and does all his tech stuff through Skype, Spencer shows up every now and then, but they do their training in a gym, and Logan can’t really stand how small the apartment is, so when he gives his inside information, they do it at his place. David travels a lot, so it is always a miracle when he can actually help out.

Justin, Drew and Satoru do their stuff over phone and Skype.

Sometimes, Shane wishes this whole Tiny Dancer thing didn’t happen to him. He wishes that the others weren’t present in the Dalton labs when Drew and Satoru’s experiment went wrong. But then he thinks of all the great things he’s done and the people he’s saved.

But superheroing comes at several personal costs and one of them is having a relationship. When he shows up at Reed’s apartment again, he has to tell himself that it is just a crush that will go away.

Maybe he’ll believe it.

* * *

The design is superb. Stellar. Amazing. Spectacular. Wonderful. Beautiful. Shane runs out of words and Reed blushes because of the many compliments.

Reed did give Shane a black bodysuit, but there’s a snazzy blazer and Shane can barely stop himself from laughing when he sees the blazer. It’s as if Reed knows who he is, because it looks like a Dalton blazer.

Oh, and there’s a turtleneck to his bodysuit. Shane assumes it’s stylish.

“I also added some heels to alter your height to help you hide your identity,” Reed points towards the new boots, “and that is also the reason why I made you look a little bit more buff. No worries, the suit is still pretty streamlined, so that quick and fast movements can happen. I gave you a second utility belt, if that is okay. And I removed the logo from your chest and I moved it to your shoulders or the outsides of you upperarms, because I think that a logo on the chest is kind of tacky.”

“I was hoping there’d be a cape,” Shane jokes.

“Are you kidding me?” Reed yells, but he’s joking as well, “You jump all the time. Imagine your cape getting stuck. Don’t you know the golden superhero rule: no capes!”

“Reed, this is amazing.”

“Alright,” Reed says and he closes his sketchbook, “I’ll finalise the designs and then I’ll start working on it. I will need your measurements, but we can do that next week.”

“Of course.”

* * *

That’s how, a week later, Shane finds himself undressing in front of a cute boy. Not in the ideal situation, but it is still a thing. He got all flustered when Reed asked him to strip down, but Reed noticed, which led to an awkward “It’s my fault!” “No, I shouldn’t have worded it like that!” conversation.

But Reed is right. He needs accurate measurements. Shane should have thought this through because he is wearing Star Wars underwear.

“Mask stays on.”

“Of course, Tiny,” Reed says.

“It’s not that I don’t want to trust you-”

“I know. Spread your arms.”

Reed measures his biceps, his wrists and the length of his arms. Reed then asks Shane to spread his legs so that he can measure them as well and when Reed measures his tights, he tries not to think about how different this could be in a different setting.

Instead he tries to focus on that one time he walked in on Logan and his boyfriend Julian having sex on Logan’s kitchen table while listening to Mamma Mia. That pretty much kills the mood. The Mamma Mia, that is.

Reed coughs. “I hope… this is a bit, uhm…”

“Intimate?”

Reed nods quickly. “But don’t worry, I’m almost done.”

“I don’t mind,” Shane says before he can stop himself.

“Uhm,” is all that Reed says and he turns red.

Shane looks away. “… Am I making you uncomfortable?” Shane asks and  _ohgodplease let the answer be no._

But luckily, Reed says no. “No, not at all. It’s just a bit weird. The last time I was this close to a man’s tights was before I broke up with him. Am  _I_ making you uncomfortable? I can imagine that you’re not used to some guy, who also happens to like guys, close to your inner tights.”

 _If only you knew,_  Shane wants to say, but he can’t, because this stupid secret identity is a thing.

“It’s okay. It’s business.”

“Right. Business.”

Luckily for both of them, Reed moves away from Shane’s legs to measure his torso and chest. But then he moves to Shane’s throat.

“I am not going to strangle you,” Reed says jokily, “But you’ve seen the design. I need to measure this as well.”

Reed’s face is so close to Shane’s, Shane is almost afraid that he might kiss him. But he needs to focus. He needs to think about the soundtrack of Mamma Mia.

But what would happen if Shane kisses Reed?

What if-

Reed looks up. “I’m almost done.”

“I-”

“Don’t talk much,” Reed cuts him off, “There’s a tape measure almost choking you, Tiny, it’s not healthy.”

Reed’s eyes are beautiful.

More Mamma Mia, Shane thinks. He needs more Mamma Mia! He also needs the soundtrack of the second movie.

What if-

“See, all done!” Reed says and he removes the tape measure, but he’s still standing so close.

What if-

But then Reed kisses Shane.

For a moment, everything feels right in the world. Shane kisses back and grabs the back of Reed’s head and it’s messy, but it is so good.

But then Reed pulls away in shock. “I am so sorry!” he yells out.

Shane wants to say that it’s okay, that he’s into it ( _didn’t you notice, dumbo?_ ), and that he wants more, but then he remembers the secret identity thing and the one time someone made a blurry picture of him and Blaine and how some people on the internet almost found Blaine.

“No, I am,” he says.

Reed runs out the door, and almost trips, leaving Shane alone in Reed’s studio.

Then, Shane teleports away.

* * *

“So, you’re saying that you kissed that guy?” Logan asks.

“Well, he kissed me,” Shane says and he sips his coffee.

“And you were into it. You kissed him back. But then he ran away?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s a buzzkill,” Logan says.

“So is playing Mamma Mia during sex.”

“You’re never gonna let it go, huh? Again, we weren’t planning on it, but we were too busy to turn it off. Don’t blame me. I hadn’t seen Jules in weeks.”

“At least you’re getting some,” Shane grumbles.

Logan raises an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be talking about this with Blaine?”

“Discussing my sex life with my  _brother_? You really don’t know anything about having siblings, do you?”

“Look, it’s a good thing my father didn’t have more children to fuck up.”

“Valid point.”

“But back to the Reed situation,” Logan says, “I know you think have two options. You either die alone or you stop being Tiny Dancer. But there is a third option. You can always tell him your real name.”

That makes Shane laugh. Really? Does Logan seriously think that there’s a third option? Then Logan is more dense than Shane originally thought. Doesn’t he understand that he can never have that? Doesn’t he understand that Shane already lives in fear for fucking Merril, Katherine, Kurt and Julian’s lives, and they don’t even know that Shane is Tiny Dancer?

Doesn’t he understand that he cannot drag Reed into this?

“Or, maybe a fourth situation, although this is really crazy. You can date him as one of your identities, without telling him about your other identity.”

“That is indeed really crazy.”

“Look, Shane, I am going to be frank with you,” and Logan puts his cup of coffee down. That is serious for Logan, since he is an ex-Stuart. “Don’t see love as a weakness. I understand that you want to protect the people you love, and you don’t want that group of people to grow, because that means you’ll have to worry about a bigger group of people. But right now, you’re rejecting love. You’re afraid of love. You see love as something that will come back to bite you in the ass, and sometimes it does that, but sometimes you should take that risk. Besides, if Reed ends up breaking your heart, I’ll kill him myself and I’m pretty sure Blaine will want to team up.”

Shane snorts. “Blaine can’t even kill a fly.”

“Not the point, Shane. But think about what I said, okay? Seeing love as something purely negative really affects you in a negative way. I know that. I’ve been there.”

* * *

When Shane teleports to Reed’s apartment on Thursday, Reed isn’t at home. There’s a plastic bag on the windowsill that says reads ‘For Tiny’. Shane opens it and he finds a new Tiny Dancer costume, complete with belts, gloves, and boots.

There’s a small note.

_‘I hope you like it. I’m sorry for last week. – R’_

Shane waits around in the apartment for almost an hour before he realizes that Reed is not coming back. Feeling defeated, he teleports back home.

* * *

Shane doesn’t touch the new superhero costume at all. He claims that he doesn’t have the time. That is partly true, since there’s a busy week in New York. He’s saved at least three people from robberies, stopped  _six_  car heist, fucking ended a break-in at the bank, saved a man from an abusive asshole, disarmed ten guns, and when he’s not busy being a superhero, his classes are killing him.

That Thursday afternoon, he releases all his anger during his training with Spencer.

That Thursday evening, he teleports to Reed’s apartment.

When he appears in Reed’s apartment, Reed falls out of his chair, and not because he’s a clutz.

“Tiny!” he says as he lies on the floor, “I thought I’d never see you again. In person, I mean. I obviously see you on the news. Good job on the bank heist.”

“Do you need help?” Shane asks, but Reed shakes his head.

“Sorry, I just didn’t expect you here.”

“It’s our thing,” Shane says.

“We have a thing?”

“Apparently we do.”

Reed gets up and he tilts his head. “Is everything okay with the costume? You’re not wearing it.”

“The costume fits perfectly,” Shane lies, “But I was in a hurry so I quickly grabbed this old one. I actually came here to talk about two weeks ago.”

 _Way to kill the mood, Shane_ , he thinks, but it is necessary.

“Oh,” Reed says and he doesn’t meet Shane’s eyes.

“Reed, I like you, but I can’t do it,” Shane says and Reed nods while looking at his feet, “Please understand that I have enemies. Only a small group of people knows that I am Tiny Dancer, and I fear for them. I don’t want to put you in that position. I’m sorry. I never should’ve asked you to design my costume. I didn’t want to like you, but I did.”

Reed doesn’t talk. He just looks down.

“I hope you understand. I wish this could work, Reed. You’re funny, and cute, and nice, and your curls shine beautifully when the last sunlight shines into your apartment-”

“Don’t. You’re making it worse.”

“I’m sorry too, Reed.”

“I don’t even know why I like you!” Reed yells out, “I don’t even know you! You’re nothing more than this mask, but I so desperately want to see who’s underneath.”

“Reed, I can’t.”

Reed turns away from Shane. “Tiny, could you please just leave me alone to, I don’t know, cry? Don’t come back next Thursday.”

“Reed-”

“No. We don’t have a thing.”

* * *

After that, Shane does wear his new Tiny Dancer costume when he’s out. Not that it isn’t killing him to wear it, but he hopes that Reed sees it.

Besides, it looks amazing on him and it is really, really comfortable.

Unfortunately for him, Shane can’t wear it when he’s not being Tiny Dancer.

One day, he’s out on the street in his “civvies”, getting coffee. He’s running late for a small briefing with Han. Every now and then, Shane checks up on Han, who lives in a small apartment close to Logan’s place. They talk about the new technological advances that could help Shane out, and Shane makes sure Han sees a real human being once in a while.

He’s waiting in line, looking at his phone, when it happens.

Shane hears a small yelp, and before he has time to register what is going on, there’s coffee all over him.

Shane blinks a couple of times when he sees the coffee on his shirt. He did not expect this.

“Oh my God! I am so sorry!” he hears and when Shane looks up, he does a double take.

Reed is standing in front of him, looking worried and guilty. He’s speaking, but Shane can’t really hear him.  _Reed_ is standing in front of him. It’s been a couple of Thursdays since their last encounter and Shane had resigned to never seeing Reed again.

But here he is, in person.

In front of  _Shane._  Not Tiny Dancer.

“Let me buy you a new one!” Reed is moving them out of the line, because New Yorkers are impatient and they don’t care that Shane just got coffee all over him.

“I hadn’t ordered yet?” Shane says. In his actual voice. He does not have to be Tiny Dancer in front of Reed now, and it feels amazing.

“Your shirt,” Reed says, “I meant a new shirt.”

“Can I opt for the coffee?” Shane asks, “I can get the stains out of this anyway.”

“Sure,” Reed says, “What’s your order?”

Shane gives Reed his coffee order and Reed tells him he’ll be back. Shane quickly texts Han to tell him that he might be a bit later than expected and he sits down. When Reed returns, he’s holding two cups of coffee.

“May I sit down?”

“Of course,” Shane says.

Reed hands Shane his coffee and he sits down. “My name is Reed.”

_Oh. Yeah. Shane hasn’t met Reed yet. Only Tiny Dancer knows his name._

“Shane,” Shane extends his hand. Reed shakes it.

* * *

Shane thought that liking Reed was hard before, but now it’s even harder. Now that Shane gets to hang out with Reed as himself, he finally gets to know Reed. As far as Shane knows, Reed has no idea that Shane is the same person who saves people at night.

The first time Shane asks Reed to come over, Blaine’s eyes widened. He quickly composed himself before Reed noticed. Oh, and apparently, Reed and Kurt are friends from school. Shane has always known that Kurt studies Fashion Design, but he did not expect that.

Reed is amazing. He is kind and loving and he’s cute, even when he falls down the stairs. Reed has shown Shane his paintings and in return, Shane has danced a couple of times. Reed is also timid and he likes quiet places, whereas Shane prefers to be around people. They’re so different, yet they fit. It’s as if they’re complimentary to each other.

Because of this, stopping his feelings from surfacing is harder.

Reed has mentioned earlier that he’s not really looking for a boyfriend, since he recently got his heart broken. Shane knows that Reed was talking about him, but of course, Reed can’t know that.

He really does not want to fall for Reed Van Kamp. Damnit.

* * *

Shane did not expect to find his entire team crammed in his tiny apartment.

Spencer, David and Blaine are sitting on their sofa, Logan is leaning against the wall, and even Han is there in person. To make it worse, Justin, Drew, and Satoru are also present on Skype. At first, Shane’s afraid a terrorist attack might’ve happened, but they’re all too calm for that.

“Well, hello.”

“Hello,” David says back.

“Is there a reason you’re all here in our apartment?” Shane asks. After all, even Han and Logan are here.

“Shane, we need to have an intervention,” Spencer says.

“Yes, it’s about your ever-growing love for a certain someone,” Han says.

“Reed Van Kamp,” Logan says, “It is pretty obvious that you still like him, and we all think that he likes you back. Yet, you haven’t made out yet.”

Shane would like to remind Logan that they kissed once, but then he remembers that the others don’t know, and he doesn’t want to dig his own grave.

“Gentlemen, that is none of your business,” Shane says and he makes his way to his room, but Blaine stops him.

“You made it our business, Shane,” he says.

“We all know the main reason you don’t want to at least try something is because you’re worried about endangering people. We get that. What we’re doing is not safe,” Justin says, “But I don’t even live in New York and you’re already worried about me and Laura. We’re afraid that this fear might prevent you from fully living your life.”

“And that life includes making out with a cute boy,” Logan adds.

“We’ve all noticed the change in behaviour, Shane,” Spencer says, “Remember our last sparring match at the gym? During our match, you started talking about how much Reed likes athleticism. It was cute in a way, but also weird.”

“And when Kurt and Reed both came over, it almost felt like a double date,” Blaine says.

“Also, ever since the two of you started hanging out, you have an impeccable fashion taste, and we all know you can’t afford that many Louis Vuitton, so he must’ve given you some of his clothes,” Drew says, “So unless you want him as a sugar daddy only, you should do something about it.”

But Shane shakes his head. These men are all so goddamn stupid. They aren’t in the same position. Can’t they understand that Shane is Tiny Dancer so that he can protect the people of New York. This includes them.

He still remembers that one time they snapped that picture of him and Blaine.

“You’re shaking your head,” Satoru says.

“Wow, Satoru, you can  _see_ ,” Drew jokes.

Shane tries to walk away again, but Blaine doesn’t let him go. “Explain. Why are you running away from this?”

So Shane tells them everything. He tells his team about how he can’t put Reed through the same things as he’s put the others. He tells his team about how he fears for their lives. He tells his team that  _he is sorry._

Logan rolls his eyes.

“Shane, again, you made it our business,” Blaine says, “You made it our business the moment you asked Spencer to train you, or when you built your set-up in our apartment, or when you asked Han to do his first hacking for Tiny Dancer, or-”

“Yeah, I get your point.”

“But you also made it our business the moment you started to decide how we should feel about doing this Tiny Dancer stuff,” Blaine says.

“And you’re about to do the same thing for Reed,” Spencer adds. Goddamnit. They probably rehearsed this. “Shane, your fear and actions are completely justified. We are aware of how much danger we’re in, but we made these decisions after you gave us a choice. Yes, you were the one to ask me to train you, but I chose to stay and to continue training.”

“And I continued hacking,” Han says.

“I still haven’t kicked you out our apartment,” Blaine nods towards the door that leads to their secret liar.

“I am still giving you inside information,” Logan says.

“We are still your chemistry people,” Drew and Satoru chime in.

“I will always try to be there to put you back together,” David adds.

“I still supply you with utilities,” Justin says.

“Our point is that you cannot keep putting up with  _our_  responsibilities. Our choices lead to our consequences. It’s very touching that you care, so don’t think we’re telling you to stop being so protective or whatever, but cut us some slack,” Spencer says and others nod in agreement, “Give us some space. We can all defend ourselves as well. We are not helpless bystanders. We are your team.”

“Remember what I said? Don’t let love be a weakness. Don’t run away from Reed because of some hypothetical futures. You gave us our choices,” Logan says.

“Give it to Reed as well,” Justin finished and yup, they totally rehearsed this.

Blaine let’s go of Shane, showing him that the intervention is over. Shane awkwardly walks towards his room, knowing that all eyes are on him. When he finally shuts the door behind him, it’s a relief.

He falls down on his bed and lets out a long sigh.

Is Shane really too overprotective? He justifies his actions because the danger is real, but as Spencer pointed out, that is not the problem. In fact, he flat out told Shane that his fear and actions are justified and reasonable. But has he been underestimating his team?

They are not helpless bystanders.

He doesn’t immediately have to tell Reed that he’s Tiny Dancer, but maybe, he should allow himself to have a life outside of his Tiny Dancer life. Right now, both Shane Anderson’s life and Tiny Dancer’s life revolve around Tiny Dancer. Shane doesn’t go out much. Shane doesn’t like befriending people. Shane doesn’t want to fall in love, all because of Tiny Dancer.

Shane gets pulled out of thought when his phone beeps. A message from Reed.

There’s a photo of Reed in front of a mirror, wearing an expensive looking waistcoat.

_‘Too much for a dinner with mom’s friends?’_

Shane smiles at the photo. Reed is smiling brightly and Shane just knows that Reed has already decided on his outfit, but he just wanted to send a photo of himself to Shane.

There’s a photo of Tiny Dancer in his room. Blaine gave it to him for this birthday party, thinking it was ironic. Also, Shane is a firm believer of hiding in plain sight. Shane sits up, phone still in hand, and he stares at the Tiny Dancer, at himself, on the wall.

“You can’t control my entire life.”

* * *

“Alright, Blaine! How do you ask someone out on a date?” Shane says as he sits down at the breakfast table.

Blaine blinks the sleep away and then he smiles. “You’re gonna do it? Our intervention worked?”

“You all have such big egos,” Shane says, “Anyway, I was thinking of flowers-  _loads and loads of flowers_. And maybe a song? Can I borrow your guitar?”

“First of all, don’t play guitar if you want Reed to like you,” Blaine says, “Second, do what feels right. You know Reed better than I do.”

And Blaine is right. Shane has already considered ten different options, some more lavish than others. When he’s not eating his breakfast, he is explaining everything to Blaine in a rapid pace. He can ask Reed out for coffee and just confess. He can send a dozen roses to his apartment. He can do it through memes (although Blaine doesn’t think that’s a great idea). He can serenade Reed.

“Or- wait, what are you smiling at?”

“I’m not,” Blaine says, but it is obvious that he can’t hide his smile.

“You so are, idiot. Tell me now.”

To Shane’s surprise, Blaine says: “I just haven’t seen you so happy in a while. You’re so bubbly and optimistic and you used to be like this all the time. It’s been a while.”

“Oh.”

“It’s good,” Blaine tells him and he takes his hand, “It is really good, Shane. You deserve this.”

It’s good. Shane lets himself believe that.

* * *

Shane does not send a dozen of roses to Reed’s apartment. Instead, he asks Reed for coffee and he buys a wonderful bouquet of roses.

Shane is waiting in front of their usual coffee shop and when he sees Reed approach, Reed looks surprised, but then he blushes.

When Reed’s standing in front of Shane, Shane holds out the roses. “Tadaaa!”

“Flowers, for me?”

“Flowers, for you!”

Reed accepts the flowers and Shane sees that as a win. Reed takes in the scent of the fresh flowers and Shane opens the door to the coffee shop, allowing Reed to go in first.

“I don’t think you were planning on a casual meet-up,” Reed says.

“No, I wasn’t. Is that okay?” Shane asks. So far, Reed has given no indication that he is not interested. After all, he is blushing. He’s almost as red as the roses. Yet, it can’t hurt to ask.

Reed doesn’t reply. Instead, he leans in to kiss Shane.

* * *

Dating Reed Van Kamp is like waking up after finding out you’ve won the lottery, but only ten times better. Scratch that, it’s a hundred times better. A thousand.

Shane never thought he could have that.

The moment he first put on a crappy Tiny Dancer suit, he had accepted that he was going to sacrifice some things in life, including love.

But he didn’t have to let go of love.

In the beginning, it is hard to realise that. Every time Shane goes out with Reed, he still holds back a little bit, but after a while, Reed allows him to be more open about himself. It reminds me of when Shane first met Reed. Something about Reed makes him want to open up.

Shane is happy. He’s truly, truly happy.

And all of that thanks to Reed Van Kamp.

* * *

The phone rings, and not Shane’s personal phone. Everyone on the Tiny Dancer team has two phones: 1. their personal phones and 2. their Tiny Dancer phones. Right now, the Tiny Dancer phone is ringing.

It’s ‘B’ calling. No one has their actual name in the phones, because they all know that some people can trace them. Unfortunately, their cover names are not creative. B stands for Blaine.

“Excuse me,” Shane says and he quickly finds a quiet place.

“Tiny Dancer?” Blaine sounds worried and Shane already has a bad feeling about this. Blaine knows that Shane’s out with Reed.

“Don’t tell me it’s terrorism,” Shane quickly says.

“No worries, it’s just Buttface.”

Shane groans. There aren’t many supervillains. In fact, Shane can’t even say that he has an arch nemesis, but Prince McGee might be the closest to an arch nemesis. He’s just a pretentious dickwad whose daddy has way too much money and he’s one of those bored rich kids that decides to create chaos during his free time ‘just for fun’.

He calls himself Prince for God’s sake.

And that is why everyone on the Tiny Dancer team calls him Buttface McGee.

Yet, that does not mean that they can underestimate Buttface McGee. After all, there must be a reason why Blaine’s calling.

“I do have some worries, because this is Buttface we’re talking about and you usually don’t call on this phone unless there’s an emergency,” Shane reminds his brother.

Then, he hears in the background: “Are you fucking calling already? For fuck’s sake, B!” Shane hasn’t heard Logan that angry in a long while.

“B, what the hell is going on?” Shane asks. If Logan is angry, then something is up. He’s worked hard on himself to remain calm, so if Logan’s angry, he’s  _angry_.

“Uhm, Tiny Dancer, do you know the actor Julian Larson? It kind of looks like Buttface took him.”

“Took him?” Shane yells and some people shoot him an annoyed glare, “Took him where? What does someone like Buttface want with Julian Larson?”

“Julian is still at his apartment,” Shane hears Logan, “But it looks like Buttface is there with him. Tiny Dancer, for fuck sake, come back to the HQ now.”

Shane promises he’ll get there. He goes back to Reed, who looks worried.

“Is something wrong?”

“Reed, I am sorry, I have to go.”

Reed stands up. “Shane, what is it?”

“I… feel like there’s a migraine coming, I have to go home before it’s too late,” Shane lies easily. He does not have migraine, but others don’t have to know that.

“Do I have to take you back home?” Reed asks, “It sounds serious.”

Shane shakes his head. “No, no, I can manage myself. I just have to go right now.” And with that, Shane quickly gathers his stuff and he gives Reed a kiss goodbye. He rushes off before Reed can ask him anything else.

Shane finds an empty alley. He looks around to make sure he’s okay and he teleports away. He closes his eyes during the teleport. Sometimes, he can get dizzy. When he opens his eyes, he finds Logan, Han and Blaine sitting in their living room.

Logan is stressed.

Han is typing in a rapid pace and Blaine starts talking the moment he sees Shane.

“Suit up, Tiny Dancer, and go to Julian’s apartment. You’ve been there before!”

“Wait- what is going on?”

“Buttface decided to break into Julian’s fucking home!” Logan yells.

Han turns around his laptop. There’s footage from the camera in Julian’s house. Julian is tied to a chair and Buttface McGee is talking to him.

“Buttface disabled most of security, fuck damnit, but he cannot stop me!” Han says loudly, “Unfortunately, I could only turn on one camera and I can’t figure out how to turn on sound.”

“Go, please!” Logan says frantically.

“Can’t we call the police as well?” Shane asks as he runs into their extra room to retrieve his suit.

“And how do we explain all of this? ‘Hey officer, I am an illegal hacker working for Tiny Dancer?’ Give us a break, Shane!” Han says, sounding frustrated.

“Guys, keep quiet!” Blaine yells, and then he lowers his voice: “If we keep yelling about how we’re Tiny Dancer’s team, then we might as well call the police to arrest Buttface and us too.”

“Get Jules out of there,” Logan says, “Bring him somewhere safe. Then keep Buttface busy while Julian handles the police thing. Him having access to his footage is more believable.”

“Wow, amazing plan,” Shane says, but he changes into his suit and he teleports away.

* * *

“And we are going to be so, so happy, Julian. Just you wait!” Buttface McGee says happily.

But Julian spits in his direction. “I don’t even fucking know you.”

“I am Prince McGee, and I am here to save you!” Buttface moves towards Julian and Shane almost gags when Buttface starts stroking Julian’s face.

That’s when Shane decided it is time to get out of hiding.

“Sorry, Buttface, but  _I_  am here to save him,” he says.

“Tiny Dancer?” Julian asks in confusion.

“Ugh, Tiny Dancer, is it really that hard to call me by my name?” Buttface McGee asks, annoyed.

Shane rolls his eyes. Buttface McGee really is pretentious.

“Yo, Tiny Dancer dude, I don’t want to interrupt this reunion, but this psychopath has tied me to a fucking chair?” Julian yells.

Buttface McGee turns towards Julian. “No worries, love, all will be over soon.”

“I don’t fucking know you!” Julian yells, “Why the fuck is no one listening? Where the shit is security?”

“I handled it,” Buttface McGee says, “Really, Julian, it’d be so much more easier for both of us if you’d just cooperate.”

Here’s the thing with Buttface McGee. He is powerful, Shane has to admit that, but he never fully utilises his powers because he’s a fucking dumbass. In fact, Shane’s been fighting Buttface McGee for years and he still doesn’t fully know the extend of Buttface’s powers. He knows that Buttface can fly, and during a close encounter, Shane found out that Buttface has some kind of super strength. But, he’s a moron. He is probably the worst supervillain possible, because he just gets easily distracted.

He is so focused on his conversation with Julian that he doesn’t look back to check on Shane and Shane just wants to fucking laugh. Buttface McGee is so pathetic.

There’s only one downside: he is still focusing on Julian. As long as that’s the case, Shane cannot quickly teleport to Julian to untie him. Sure, Shane can teleport fast, sometimes he’s gone in a blink of an eye, but untying Julian would be a problem.

But then, Shane has a brilliant idea.

He teleports to Julian’s position.

“Hey-”

Shane winks before he teleports both Julian and the chair away. When he opens his eyes, Logan is running towards Julian.

“Lo? What the hell-”

“Don’t say much, Julian,” Blaine says and he has a knife to untie Julian.

“Finish the job, Tiny Dancer, we will fix this from here,” Han says and Shane doesn’t think twice.

When Shane teleports to Julian’s apartment, Buttface McGee is sitting on the couch, sipping a drink. “I knew you’d come back.”

“Wow, wonderful! You’re so smart.”

“No, you’re just predictable,” Buttface McGee says and then he starts laughing, as if he’s the funniest man in the world. God, Shane hates him.

But he has to keep Buttface talking. If everything goes according to plan, then Julian is going to call the police. Maybe they can finally catch him. Sure, the police don’t like people with powers in general, but they’re more likely to arrest some asshole like Buttface McGee than him.

Because Buttface McGee might be a pathetic villain, but he’s a pathetic villain who’s well-known for being a pathetic villain.

“Don’t patronise me, Buttface,” Shane rolls his eyes in a very exaggerated way. It pisses Buttface McGee off. Nice. “Tell me, what do you want with someone high-profile like Julian Larson? You do realise you will never catch up with him, right? You will never be better than him.”

Buttface McGee laughs. “Oh, Tiny Dancer, that is not how it works. I don’t need to be better than him. Love is all about equal footing.”

“Love?” Shane asks, confused. What the hell is this idiot talking about?

Buttface McGee smiles creepily. “Not that you know anything about love. Julian and I are in love. We are meant to be, and I was about to show you, before you interrupted.”

“Buttface… I think that  _you_  don’t know anything about love.”

“At least I know more than you.”

Shane’s mind shifts to Reed, and he tries to supress a smile. Buttface McGee really is dense.

But whatever is going on, Buttface McGee must love talking about Julian, because he is still chilling on Julian’s couch. Shane just hopes that the cops are nearby.

“Let’s pretend you’re right,” Shane says and he sits across of Buttface McGee, “Let’s pretend I don’t know shit about love. Then explain it to me, because I do not understand at all why this shit with Julian Larson is considered love. It sounds more like an obsession to me. One-sided.”

The last word sets something off. Buttface McGee puts his glass down and he looks angry for the first time in this conversation. “I love Julian Larson in a way you will never understand, and the moment Julian realises it is mutual, we will be so happy together.”

“Julian doesn’t even know you.”

“But he does!” Buttface McGee yells, “He must know me. I have been commenting on all his Instagram photos and YouTube videos. I watch all his livestreams and comment there as well. I reply to all his Tweets. He must know me and he must love it.”

Okay, Buttface McGee isn’t only dense, he’s batshit crazy.

And in a way, Shane feels for him.

Shane gets up and he holds up his hands to show that he is approaching in peace. “Look, Buttface, or Prince if you insist, I think you need some help. Maybe someone to talk to about this so-called love for Julian Larson-”

Buttface McGee jumps off the couch. “Don’t get closer!”

“There is no shame in asking for help, man,” Shane says. He keeps approaching Buttface McGee, and Buttface McGee keeps backing away. Maybe when the cops arrest him, they can make sure that Buttface McGee can at least get some help in some way.

He’s a pathetic half-assed villain, but there is something.

Just that moment, the door gets kicked down and multiple policemen and women enter the apartment. “Police!” one of them yells.

And Shane is distracted for one fucking second and the next thing he knows, Buttface McGee grabs him by the shoulders.

“See ya, suckers!” he yells and he jumps outside the window with Shane in tow. He’d been leading Shane towards an open window.

Buttface McGee can fly, but Shane can teleport. Shane teleports them to the roof of Julian’s building and he’s frantically looking for a thing to tie him down, but Buttface McGee is holding on to him. Fucking super strength.

“Hell no,” he says and the creepy smile return. Before Shane can do anything, Buttface McGee throws him off the roof.

Shane is falling, and he’s falling fast. He can hear people scream. He doesn’t think. He teleports.

* * *

“Shane!” Blaine shakes Shane awake. Everything hurts.

“Wha- what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Spencer asks and he and Blaine exchange a glare.

Shane shakes his head.

“Buttface threw you off a building,” Spencer says, “You were able to teleport during your fall, but not fully. I think you couldn’t pinpoint a location to teleport in time, so your teleport failed somewhere and you fell down for, like, six feet and hit the pavement. Then you teleported again.”

“We found you here,” Blaine says.

“Where am I?”

“In your room. It’s all going to be okay,” Spencer says.

Then it’s all black.

* * *

David is standing next to the bed. Blaine or Spencer must’ve called him. David is the only person who Shane recruited. At first, he didn’t want to drag David into the entire Tiny Dancer situation, but his teammates made it very clear that having someone with some kind of medical knowledge is a big advantage.

Shane can’t really focus. He has no idea what David is doing, but he trusts David with his life. Which is necessary, since every now and then, Shane’s life is at stake. Again, people are so biased about superheroes. They forget that Shane is human. They forget that Shane can get hurt. He cannot regenerate or heal fast. A bullet hurts him as much as it hurts Blaine.

David and Spencer are talking to him, but Shane can’t really hear them. Out of the corner of his eye, Shane can see that Blaine’s on the phone. Shane can hear him say the words “okay” and “Logan”.

Spencer snaps his fingers and David looks worried, but Shane focuses a little bit. He’s focused enough to finally hear David.

“Alright, Shane, it is all going to be okay. No worries.”

David quickly enlists Spencer, who has absolutely zero medical knowledge, as his helping hand. Shane trusts David, he really does. Blaine quickly leaves the room, but he returns with Logan, who looks pale.

Spencer hands David some scissors.

“Don’t cut the suit,” Shane cries out. Reed made the suit. They can’t ruin the suit, because Shane can’t ask Reed for another.

“Shane, the bodysuit is stuck in your wounds,” David says sternly, “I have to.”

Of course, David is right, and it’s stupid to cry over a damn superhero suit while he has bigger problems, but still, Shane cries a little bit when Spencer rips the fabric apart.

David says something and Blaine says: “I don’t like the sound of that, David.”

“What? What is going on?” Shane asks.

“I can’t help you, Shane,” David says, “You need to go to the fucking hospital. This is too much. I don’t have the equipment.”

“He can’t go to the hospital!” Logan yells, “They will unmask and arrest him!”

“Lower your voices,” Spencer hisses, “Or you guys unmask him to his fucking neighbours. Why do we always have to be so loud? Stupid Windsors.”

Everyone’s too tense to point out that Logan is a Stuart.

“Lo is right, David,” Blaine says, “We can’t risk it.”

David scratches his chin and he’s deep in thought. Then he says: “Then Tiny Dancer isn’t going to the hospital. Shane is going to the hospital, as himself. Blaine, quick, grab some clothes.”

Blaine is gone before Shane can blink.

“Spencer, help me get this mask off his face,” David says, “Logan, hail a fucking cab or something.” Just like Blaine, Logan is gone the moment David’s done talking.

Spencer lifts the mask of his face, which always hurts a little bit since it is actually glued to his face, and David has a wet towel to wipe the glue off his face.

That’s when there’s a knock on the door.

“Who the fuck…” David curses under his breath.

Another knock. “Hello? Shane? Are you in here?”

Spencer immediately jumps up and David looks alarmed. Reed is at the door. Blaine runs back into the room and he dumps some clothes on the floor.

“Blaine… Reed…” Shane manages to say.

Blaine nods. “I’ll hold him off.”

Spencer and David help Shane out of what is left of his Tiny Dancer suit and they dress him. Meanwhile, Shane can hear his brother and Logan talk to Reed.

“No, no, he’s just not feeling well!”

“Is he okay? He basically ran out of our coffee date,” Reed sounds anxious.

“He’s going to be fine, Reed.”

“Let me see him! He said he had a migraine! That is not great.”

“I am not sure if-”

“Blaine, let me through!”

They hear some footsteps. “Reed, wait!”

“Logan, let go of me! Where is he? Shane! Shane?”

Spencer runs to the bedroom door and he locks it. David gestures towards Shane to be quiet. As expected, someone tries to open the bedroom door.

“Shane, it’s me!” Reed yells and he knocks on the door, “Open up! Are you okay?”

Shane opens his mouth, but David shoots him a stern look.

“Shane, you in here?” he hears and it’s  _Blaine_ , “Shane?”

“Maybe he’s asleep. Did he lock the door?” Logan asks.

“Oh, well, he’s been a pain in the ass ever since he got home,” Blaine says and Logan snorts.

“He probably wants to lock you out, since we all know you start mothering us the moment we feel bad,” Logan says.

“Rude!”

There’s another knock. “Shane?” Reed asks.

“Reed, I think he’s asleep,” Logan says.

“Yeah, let him rest.”

“But what happened?” Reed asks, still sounding worried.

“Look, he’ll probably call you,” Blaine says and Shane can hear footsteps moving away from the door.

Shane, Spencer and David wait in silence. A couple of minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. “Lo hailed a cab,” Blaine says, “Are you guys ready?”

Spencer and Blaine drag Shane downstairs, since Shane can’t walk. “What are we going to say?” Blaine asks.

“Hit and run? I don’t fucking know,” David says.

Downstairs, Logan helps Shane inside the cab and he pays the drives some extra money to find the fastest way possible. Blaine also joins them and Spencer and David hail another cab.

“Everything is going to be okay, Shane,” Blaine says.

* * *

Shane is never underestimating Buttface McGee again, but he will still call him Buttface McGee, because he knows that someone as pretentious as Buttface McGee will hate him for it. Shane will never call him Prince again.

But he will never think loosely. He will always be alerted when it comes to Buttface McGee. After all, he put him in this position: bruised ribcage, broken arm, and broken ankle.

Shane wishes he’d heal quickly, but he’s only human. The thing Shane hates the most is that Shane gets injured, not only Tiny Dancer, so he still feels the pain when he’s just himself. That’s not all: Shane is a dance student.

At least, people around him are supportive. To anyone outside the Tiny Dancer team, he lies. He tells everyone that it was a hit and run. He tells Reed again that he felt sick out of nowhere, which explained why he suddenly left during their date, and when he was feeling better, he decided to go out to buy some snacks. He just forgot to look before crossing the road.

Reed bought it, and he’s been a mothering him ever since.

That’s when it happens.

It’s just another boring day. Now that he has a couple of broken limbs, Shane can barely move. He can’t leave the apartment at all. His friends come over to visit, but after a couple of weeks, it’s dreadful. That’s another reason why he loves Reed being there.

They’re just sitting on Shane’s bed, side to side, with a laptop playing Dirty Dancing. Shane is loudly complaining about the dancing. It’s not that Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze can’t dance, but their dancing is too heterosexual for Shane’s liking.

“One day, I will be the one to star in the first gay remake of Dirty Dancing, Reed! Mark my words!”

Reed laughs.

“What? Do you think I’m ridiculous?” Shane asks jokingly.

Reed shakes his head and his curls are all over the place. It’s cute.

“No, not at all,” Reed says, “You are always so funny and creative, Shane. That’s why I love you.”

Shane wants to say something back, like a witty retort about how Reed is definitely the most creative out of the two of them, but he can’t. Instead, he smiles widely.

Reed raises an eyebrow. “Why are you smiling like you just won the lottery?”

Because Shane feels like he just did.

Reed waves a couple of times. “Hello? Earth to Shane! You have a dopey smile on your face, and I know it’s not because of Dirty Dancing, because you just told me it’s too heterosexual.”

Shane pauses the movie. Dirty Dancing is not important right now. He takes Reed’s hand. “You just told me you love me.”

At first, Reed’s eyes widen, but then he blushes scarlet. “I guess I did.”

Shane cups Reed’s face. “I love you too.”

Reed gets the same dopey smile on his face. They’re in love. A couple of months ago, Shane was convinced that being Tiny Dancer prevented him from having any kind of relationship, but here he is. He’s watching a movie with his boyfriend in his room, and they just admitted to each other that they are in love.

It’s good.

It’s really good. And Shane is incredibly happy.

* * *

The city of New York slowly starts mourning Tiny Dancer.

Shane can’t blame them, since it’s been months since they last saw Tiny Dancer in action. They don’t know that Shane has been healing.

He’s ready for a comeback. He knows that he wants a comeback. He’s going to make Julian’s comeback to Dalton look pathetic (tough job, though). Blaine had tried to talk him out of it, but Shane was having none of it. Tiny Dancer is not dead.

Besides, Shane’s been healing. He’s been attending loads of physical therapy. The past couple of months were agonizing, but Shane is almost ready for his comeback. He can feel it.

There’s only one thing that he has realized: he wants to tell Reed. Since all the Tiny Dancer action was put on hold, it’d been really easy to hide it from Reed, but their relationship has progressed a lot. In fact, Kurt and Blaine are about to move in together, so Reed has not-so-subtly offered to take Shane in.

And even so, Shane trust and loves Reed more than anyone in the world. Not being able to tell the truth was more painful than the entire healing process. Reed was not completely at his side during all those months, because Shane wouldn’t let Reed, but he’s done with that. Reed is his partner, his love of his life.

Reed is his everything.

He’s rehearsed a speech several times. He’s acted out several outcomes with Blaine and Logan. He’s ready.

But after dinner, back in Reed’s apartment, he realises he is not. Reed, being the loving and attentive and perfect boyfriend that he is, notices that something is wrong.

Reed snuggles against him on the couch. “You can tell me anything, you know that?” he says.

Shane knows that, but this is big. “I don’t really know how to tell you.”

“It’s okay,” Reed says, “I know.”

“You know?” Shane jerks his head towards Reed in shock. Reed leans away and he faces Shane and he nods.

“Yes, I ran into Kurt while he was ring shopping,” Reed says enthusiastically.

“What?” Shane asks in shock.

“What?” Reed says back when he realises Shane has no idea what he’s talking about.

“ _Kurt is proposing to Blaine?_ ” Shane yells out.

Reed pales and he immediately yells back: “No, not yet! Oh my God! The first next big step is them moving in together, so Kurt is not ready for an immediate engagement!”

“But he’s ring shopping?”

“Well, he is already thinking about it! He told me he’d discuss it with you as well.”

“Oh my fucking God, my brother’s boyfriend is thinking about marrying my brother. My brother will get married. Holy shit!”

Reed nods happily. “I am so happy for them. They are still going strong!”

Shane is so caught up in the moment that he’s forgotten about the Tiny Dancer reveal, until Reed says: “But that is not what you’re talking about, is it?”

Suddenly, all the tension creeps back. He doesn’t know what to do. Reed takes his hand and he gives him a reassuring squeeze. “Everything will be fine.”

Gosh, Shane hopes so. There are several different outcomes in his mind. Reed is totally okay with it, or Reed is totally freaking out, or Reed accepts it but breaks up with Shane, or Reed leaks his identity, or… or…

There’s only one way to find out.

“Reed, I am Tiny Dancer. Okay, you can freak out now.” Shane closes his eyes, and he waits for a reaction, but there’s silence.

Shane slowly opens his eyes, and Reed is smiling softly.

“Please, say something.”

And to Shane’s surprise, Reed says: “I know. I’ve known ever since I first ran into you in that coffee shop. But that wasn’t our first meeting, was it, Tiny?”

Shane is completely gobsmacked. He has no words to describe what he’s feeling. Reed has rendered him speechless. From all possible outcomes, Shane had not covered this one. He had not rehearsed this one with Blaine and Logan.

Reed has known the entire time.

“H-How?” Shane eventually manages to cry out.

“Shane, please, your mask only covers your eyes and have you seen these cheekbones?” Reed says and he cups Shane’s face and then he leans in to kiss Shane. At first, Shane doesn’t really react to the kiss, because he’s still in shock, but then he kisses back. When Reed pulls away, he winks and says: “Also, our first kiss confirmed it. Our second kiss, actually. You taste like that awfully sweet chewing gum you’re addicted to. And don’t even get me started on that ass. I designed a bodysuit for that ass. It’s not easy to forget.”

Reed kisses him again and he pushes Shane down on the couch.

“Ow! Ribs! Not fully healed yet!” Shane cries out.

Reed jumps off him and at first, they stare at each other, before they both start to laugh.

“Does it still hurt?” Reed asks.

“Not as much as it used to,” Shane says, “I can move pretty easily, but you sitting on me won’t do me any good. Unfortunately.”

“Well, you kind of fell out of a building, so I can’t blame you for being in pain.”

“You knew that as well?”

Reed shrugs. “It’s pretty easy to connect the dots. My boyfriend is Tiny Dancer. Tiny Dancer’s teleportation goes wrong and he falls a couple of feet. My boyfriend gets a mysterious hit and run accident. And cover story galore!”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I was so afraid. I wanted to keep you out of it, but I realised I couldn’t, but then I was afraid of your reaction. But you’ve known, even before we were dating?”

Reed sits down again. “I could make up an entire story about how I felt reluctant to be part of the Tiny Dancer life, but honestly, it’s pretty simple. I wanted you to tell me,” Reed answers, “I knew that this was a big thing and I was waiting for you to trust me. I didn’t want to tell you and give you a feeling that you owed me anything. And honestly, getting to know the man behind the mask was amazing. I fell in love with Tiny Dancer, an idea of a person, but then my idea because a reality and it is so much better than I could hope for.”

This time, Shane is the one who initiates the kiss.

“See, I can do this. Falling in love with you twice has been a privilege, Shane,” Reed says, and he kisses Shane again.

“So, me being Tiny Dancer won’t change anything?” Shane asks hopefully.

Reed throws his arms around Shane and laughs. “Silly boy, it didn’t change anything before, it won’t change anything now. Well, apart from the fact that I expect to be part of the team.”

“Of course, yes! They had to destroy my suit, so please, join us!”

“Oh, Tiny Dancer is about to return  _in style_.”

* * *

Tiny Dancer rises again, after months of absence, wearing a brand new suit. The people of New York celebrate his return.

His team, which consists of Blaine Anderson, Spencer Willis, Logan Wright, David Sullivan, Han Westwood, Justin Bancroft, Drew Mapleton, Satoru Kogo, and Reed Van Kamp, is always there to support it, even though people don’t know it.

Tiny Dancer is a busy superhero and he can be found almost every night on the streets of New York, saving civilians and fighting crime.

Except for Thursdays. Thursdays are date nights. It’s their thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks Lauren for the prompt, thanks Annika [for the logo](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.plurk.com%2FbWuHYSXi9VnHtOD8Gt3aY.jpg&t=ZTc2Y2E5NzFiYmRhNGM0ZDg2MDc4MmE2ZmZjOTE5NjE3ZmU4MGVkYiwyNUtXS0tTbA%3D%3D&b=t%3A1_FbMVvKlyXyfeQlKE-AmQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fforabeatofadrum.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F177593151508%2Fbut-oh-how-it-feels-so-real&m=1), thanks Fiona for giving me the idea to use lyrics from Tiny Dancer as the title, thanks Margot for the name Buttface McGee.
> 
> And thanks to Courtney, Hannah, Joey, Fiona, Lozzy, Margot and Cat for Plurking with me about this silly idea that turned into a 10K+ fic.
> 
>  
> 
> [Also, here are the Tiny Dancer designs!](http://forabeatofadrum.tumblr.com/post/177593392548/tiny-dancer-by-me-reed-van-kamp)


End file.
